This invention relates generally to personnel safety nets which are used in the construction industry. More particularly, the present invention relates to safety nets which are mounted at construction or industrial sites to provide fall protection at elevated work locations and to techniques and devices for identifying the source of the safety nets.
Personnel safety nets are conventionally used in highrise or elevated construction projects to provide fall protection for the workers and also to provide a debris containment system to protect individuals below the elevated work site. Personnel safety nets which are used to provide fall protection are subject to strict governmental regulation and are required to comply with various safety standards. Applicable regulations and standards typically require that the safety nets be marked with a tag which identifies the manufacturer as well as other information including testing authorities and relevant dates. However, in practice, especially when the safety nets have been placed in service for an extended time, it is quite common for the identification tags to be removed from the safety nets--either accidentally or intentionally. Removal of the identification tags may occur while the nets are at the construction site or are in transit or are in use. It is also common for the construction contractors to employ nets from different manufacturers and sources on a given work site.
Because of the high potential for injuries and death due to malfunction of personnel safety nets, it is very important that the manufacturer of the safety net be readily identified. The identification is desired both from a liability standpoint and also from a standpoint of quality control and improving safety in the industry. Identification of the manufacturer is also a key factor in accident reconstruction.
Until recently there were relatively few certified fabricators of personnel safety nets. For the most part each manufacturer had a distinct netting style which provided a suitable indication of manufacture regardless of whether identification tags or labels were attached to the net. However, the number of manufacturers of personnel safety nets has dramatically increased and the various styles are no longer sufficiently distinctive from a visual perspective to be an indication of source. Because the identification of a company as manufacturer of a given safety net can have very significant consequences, it has become increasingly important that the manufacturer of the safety net be correctly identified and that the identification process not be compromised by vandalism, accident or in some extreme cases--outright fraud.
For the safety nets to which the present invention relates, the nets have a mesh configuration comprised of numerous twisted cords. The cords are composed of strands which are twisted together. The individual strands are often further composed of yarns which are twisted together. A tar-like substance is applied to the netting to form a substantially black coating to enhance resistance to ultraviolet radiation and to diminish the effects of chafing.